the hurricane Ianone of the most powerful storms on record in the United States, swept through southwest Florida on Wednesday, flooding streets and homes and knocking out power to more than two million homes.
Updated at 0:00
“I have water up to my ankles all over the house. My whole community is flooded. I sit on the kitchen counter until someone comes to get me,” says The Press Nancy Everitt, resident of Fort Myers, Florida.
the hurricane Ian, category 4 out of a maximum of 5 when it made landfall in the Fort Myers area of Florida’s west coast on Wednesday afternoon, caused catastrophic flooding in its path. The flood could sometimes exceed 3 meters, announced Wednesday evening the governor of the State, Ron DeSantis. Winds reached 240 km/h. At the end of the evening, Ian upgraded to Category 3, according to the US National Hurricane Center.
PHOTO FROM SARINA BRADEN’S FACEBOOK PAGE
Flooded house by Sarina Braden
“The water is chest high in the street. I have it up to my ankles in my house. The weather is bad, the wind is blowing hard. The cars are flooded. And we have no way out, ”said Sarina Braden, who lives east of Naples, 35 km south of Fort Myers. “Security says we have to wait for the winds to calm down before anyone tries to leave,” she said.
The Naples Sheriff’s Department said on Facebook that it was receiving “a significant number of calls from people trapped in water in their homes” and would prioritize people “reporting life-threatening medical emergencies.” danger in deep waters.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY LOUISE CAUCHON
House of Louise Cauchon, in Naples, Florida
For several years, Louise Cauchon has been leaving Quebec during the winter to settle in her mobile home in Naples. On Wednesday, his neighborhood was flooded.
We can not do anything. It’s worrying because it’s a house we don’t want to lose.
Louise Cauchon, Quebecer who spends the winter in Florida
At the end of the evening, more than two million homes were without electricity in Florida, mainly around the passage of the hurricane, according to the specialized site PowerOutage. Several counties located near where Ian touched down were almost completely without power.
Sheltered
Florida residents rushed ahead of the storm’s arrival to barricade their homes, shelter their prized possessions on the upper floors and join the long lines of cars leaving the coast. About 2.5 million people have been ordered to evacuate southwest Florida before Ian don’t knock.
“We received an alert Monday from the town hall of Tampa to tell us to evacuate in 24 hours. We complied,” says Patrick, a Quebecer who lives in Florida. “We just found a hotel room in Orlando,” he said. The family will stay there until at least Friday.
Josh Brown, un résidant d’Orlando, a commencé à se préparer pour l’arrivée de Ian il y a quelques jours. « Nous avons rentré les meubles d’extérieur dans le garage, mis des piles neuves sur une radio météo, acheté de la nourriture et de l’eau supplémentaires, ainsi que des lampes de poche en cas de panne de courant », détaille-t-il.
Le gouvernement fédéral a envoyé 300 ambulances avec des équipes médicales et était prêt à acheminer par camion 3,7 millions de repas et 3,5 millions de litres d’eau une fois la tempête passée.
« Nous serons là pour vous aider à nettoyer et à reconstruire, pour aider la Floride à se remettre en marche », a déclaré mercredi le président Joe Biden. « Et nous serons là à chaque étape du processus. C’est mon engagement absolu envers les habitants de l’État de la Floride. »
« Un ouragan catastrophique »
« C’est un ouragan catastrophique », dit Bertin Ossonon, météorologue pour MétéoMédia. La force de Ian, au moment où il a touché terre, le place au cinquième rang des ouragans les plus puissants, mesurés en fonction de la vitesse du vent, à avoir frappé les États-Unis.
Quelques heures après son arrivée en Floride, les vents soutenus les plus forts étaient tombés à 210 km/h. « Une des principales sources d’énergie de l’ouragan, ce sont les eaux chaudes. Quand il arrive sur terre, il perd en intensité, parce qu’il n’a plus cette source d’énergie », explique M. Ossonon.
Au total, certains secteurs de la Floride risquent de recevoir de 300 à 500 millimètres de pluie, indique Philippe Gachon, professeur au département de géographie de l’Université du Québec à Montréal.
[L’ouragan] moves very slowly, so areas will be affected longer by both intense winds and heavy precipitation.
Philippe Gachon, professor in the geography department of the University of Quebec in Montreal
The day before, the storm had hit Cuba, killing two people and knocking out the country’s power grid. Only the few people with a gasoline generator had access to electricity in this country of 11.2 million people. Violent winds and heavy rains sowed desolation in several localities.
Shortly before hitting Florida, the poor conditions capsized a boat carrying migrants. As of Wednesday evening, the coastguard was looking for another 20 people, with three having been rescued and four others having managed to swim to shore.
The weather phenomenon will continue to move inland and emerge over the western Atlantic by Thursday evening. It will be felt slightly in Quebec in the coming days. “There will be a cloud cover in the form of a veil over the southwest of the province at the weekend and slightly cooler temperatures,” said Mr. Ossonon.
With the warming of the surface of the oceans, the frequency of the most intense hurricanes, with more violent winds and greater precipitation, is increasing, recalls Philippe Gachon. “That’s why we have to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and global warming. Otherwise, we will see phenomena that we had never seen in history,” he said.
With the collaboration of Delphine Belzile, The Press
When does the storm surge peak?
According to the United States’ National Hurricane Center (NHC), one of the deadliest and most destructive features of a hurricane is storm surge: the rising waters caused by high winds that push the ocean water towards the coast.
These waves can happen quickly, leaving little or no time to act. According to the NHC, 15 cm of fast-moving water can knock an adult over. About sixty centimeters can carry a van or an SUV.
So how do you know if storm surge is to be expected and when it is most severe?
A storm surge typically builds up for many hours as the eye of the hurricane nears the coast and peaks just as it makes landfall when the strongest winds around the eye blow perpendicular to the shore, says Hal Needham, extreme weather and disaster specialist for GeoTrek, a science communication platform.
These winds push seawater towards the shore, he added, creating a raging river through coastal communities. Since winds blow counterclockwise during a hurricane in the Northern Hemisphere, water levels typically rise more on the right side of the hurricane, creating the worst effects for communities in this region.
According to the NHC, the areas likely to be most affected by the hurricane Ian are south of Tampa, from the middle of Longboat Key to Bonita Beach. There, the water could rise more than three and a half meters above the ground.
“It’s moving violently,” Needham said, noting that some communities expecting storm surge have never faced such a large surge in living memory. “The impacts can be catastrophic.”
Livia Albeck-Ripka, The New York Times
Florida’s worst hurricanes
andrew1992
PHOTO FROM WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Ruined houses hit by the hurricane andrew in Miami-Dade County, Florida in August 1992
This Category 5 hurricane battered southern Miami-Dade County with winds of 270 mph, causing damage estimated at $25 billion in the state. Fifteen people were killed directly by the storm, and dozens more succumbed to indirect causes. andrew was the costliest storm in U.S. history until Hurricane Katrinawhich ravaged New Orleans in 2005.
Charlie2004
PHOTO ARCHIVE REUTERS
Devastation in Port Charlotte, Florida after hurricane Charliein August 2004
Charley was an unexpectedly powerful hurricane, quickly developing into a Category 4 storm just before making landfall in Cayo Costa, an island off Florida’s Gulf Coast. Nine people were directly killed by the storm and losses were estimated at $6.8 billion, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).
Wilma2005
PHOTO RICK WILKING, REUTERS ARCHIVES
Flooded streets in Everglades City, Florida following the passage of Wilmain October 2005
The balance sheet of Wilma is fortunately low – five direct deaths – for a Category 4 storm. Even so, the property damage bill from the hurricane was particularly high, estimated at $20.6 billion in the United States. Wilma ravaged the southern part of the state, generating gusts of more than 161 km / h.
Irma2017
PHOTO CARLOS BARRIA, REUTERS ARCHIVES
the hurricane Irma hitting Miami, in September 2017
Irma was notable for its extended size and slow motion, which exacerbated the storm’s damaging winds and heavy rainfall. It left 6.5 million customers without power in the state and caused property damage estimated at $50 billion, making it one of the costliest hurricanes in US history. Seven people died from the storm and 80 indirectly, according to an NHC tally.
Michael2018
PHOTO JONATHAN BACHMAN, REUTERS ARCHIVES
An American flag flutters among the rubble after the hurricane hit Michael in Mexico Beach, Florida in October 2018.
Michael was the strongest hurricane on record to make landfall in the Florida Panhandle, according to the National Weather Service. Wind and storm surge caused catastrophic damage, particularly in the Panama City Beach and Mexico Beach areas. Eight direct deaths have been reported: seven in Florida and one in Georgia. Additionally, 43 indirect deaths were attributed to the storm.